Getting the Best TV Experience on the Note II

This month way back in 1925 saw the very first public demonstration of television technology. Nearly a century on, many of us now watch streaming and catch-up TV on our mobiles, not to mention recorded programs.

Have you ever wondered what the best way to get TV on the go is? If so, read on as we explain all you need to know about the best Note II-friendly apps that can help you get the most out of TV on the move.

Pre-installed software – Video Player

The Samsung GALAXY Note II video player app is a silent selling point of the phone, and is essential for playing back your own recorded TV shows.

What do we mean by ‘silent selling point’? On the surface, it’s as unassuming as any other video player, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find it’s considerably richer.

For starters, it packs an incredibly broad range of video codecs. MP4, AVI, MKV, whatever format your video, it’ll probably play back on the Note II.

Thanks to the Note II processor’s quad-core power, it’ll also play back the majority of your quirky file formats up to either 720p or 1080p – something that less powerful Android phones and tablets just can’t do.

The video player can even turn your playing video into a floating window, so you can get on with other tasks while your favourite TV show is playing back on your Note II.

Official TV services

Content providers in the UK have wised up to the likes of the Samsung GALAXY Note II with its 5.5-inch 720p HD Super AMOLED display and zippy LTE data speeds, making it perfect for on-the-go video.

Four of the five major television station’s content is available on the go, with the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 having developed mobile apps that can turn a portable screen into a pocketable TV. This means that getting your Samsung GALAXY Note II kitted out for TV mobility is as simple as a dip into your Google Play Store.

4OD is the catch-up version of Channel 4’s TV service, which, as with ITV Player, also features advertising. It’s simple to get your head around the clean interface and the app even groups episodes by series, so you can catch up on two or three episodes in one sitting.

The app even has the option to set a pin and set a parental lock for content that’s inappropriate for under-18s – perfect for any protective parent who’s treated their lucky teen to a Note II.

While the aforementioned are generally regarded as the primary ways of getting TV on your phone, many people will have still heard of TVCatchup.

The service is commonly associated with the desktops, but the Android app has seen huge success, with almost 16,000 downloads and a four star rating in the Google Play Store.

To put things into context, BBC’s iPlayer has had around 17,600 downloads and bears a middling three star rating.

The service’s success is thanks to the fact it offers over fifty streaming channels in total. While it won’t let you pick and choose what you want to watch like the other apps, it will stream all its channels live.

This can turn your GALAXY Note II into a very capable second screen for those late nights at the office, or help you keep on top of the Football match you’re missing while at the movies with the other half.

You wouldn’t associate Netflix with TV on the go, but discount it and you’ll be missing out on some high-quality, streaming on-demand TV shows with no advertising to speak of.

A quick scan through the Netflix catalogue and you’ll soon see familiar shows to those found on other services such as The Vampire Diaries and ITV’s River Monsters. Netflix’s app is preferable in terms of video quality and user experience, making the humble £5.99-a-month asking price well worth it.

As Netflix grows, so too does its collection of original content too. House of Cards for example, the original Netflix series was released towards the beginning of 2013, receiving critical acclaim. With a second original series Hemlock Grove, Netflix looks like it’s going the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 route and producing quality original content – only this time, with streaming in mind.

As perfect as the Samsung GALAXY Note II is for watching video, it can’t beat the real thing, and you wouldn’t want it to. It can however supplement a TV beautifully if you download a simple EPG.

EPG you say? Indeed. EPG stands for electronic program guide. This sits on your phone while your TV is in full swing, telling you what’s on and giving you the low-down on it. Your Freesat, Sky and Virgin service will provide EPGs of their own, not to mention your shiny Smart TV, but the On Air app for Android is still worth your time.

For starters, it’s operable with a finger and large touch screen rather than just buttons. Providing you with a full run down of programs on now and next, it’s the ideal way to figure out how what to stick on as your sitting down for your dinner for one.

It’s also smart. While most TV and set-top boxes EPGs will present you with program information, the On Air app will pull in IMDb details, link out to YouTube, Wikipedia, Twitter and Facebook.

Miss the beginning of your show? No problem. On Air will even show you other times the program’s playing so that you can catch it from the start.

So there you have it, a host of ways of getting the best TV experience on the Samsung GALAXY Note II, be it through the on board video player, streaming services, or using the Note II as a second screen.

DISCLAIMER: While all of the above apps are available in the Google Play Store in the UK they may not be available in other territories.